Brookwood Baptist Health hospitals collect nearly 70,000 servings of cereal during annual drive

Brookwood Baptist Health, which is a five-hospital system, donated a total of 69,846 servings of cereal to assist food-insecure residents across Central Alabama this summer during its recent Healthy Over Hungry® Cereal Drive. 

Cereal donations benefited the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Manna Ministries of Shelby County and Champion Church in Talladega. Monetary donations totaling $6,300, which included $5,000 from the Baptist Health Foundation, are used to purchase additional cereal and calculated into the total number of servings.

“The donations we collected during our cereal drive will help provide local children and adults struggling with hunger with a healthy breakfast this summer, and I am so grateful for the support of our staff and community in this effort, as well as the overwhelming support of the Baptist Health Foundation,” said Brookwood Baptist Health CEO, Tim Puthoff. “Good nutrition is essential to good health, and we want to help lead the fight against hunger across Central Alabama.”

“We are grateful to Brookwood Baptist Health for hosting the Healthy Over Hungry Cereal Drive and to all those who donated,” said Brett R. Meredith, CEO, Community Food Bank of Central Alabama. “We know that summer is a particularly tough time for many food-insecure families because children can no longer rely on schools for nutritious meals, placing an added burden on these families. Thanks again to the support of Brookwood Baptist Health for joining us in the fight against hunger. We are thrilled many families across our area will benefit because of the healthcare system’s leadership in addressing this community health issue.”

Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, which is one of the hospitals that participated in the drive, is located at 2010 Brookwood Medical Center Drive in Homewood. Visit brookwoodbaptistmedicalcenter.com for more information.

— Submitted by Laura Clark.